The story was based on the fairy tale O Popelce written by Božena Němcová (a Bohemian variation of the classic Cinderella fairytale).

[1] Cinderella's stepmother has the village in a frenzy preparing for the arrival of the king and queen, who will be stopping en route to their nearby castle.

Cinderella takes the blame for a kitchen boy's accident, prompting her stepmother to berate her as well as her late father.

Enraged, Cinderella snaps back at her, and is subsequently punished by having to separate lentils and ashes mixed together in a bucket.

Freed of her punishment, Cinderella visits the stable to see her white horse, which she used to ride in the forest with her father while hunting.

As the royal party approaches, everyone gathers to greet them, except Cinderella, who is forbidden to attend as the Stepmother wants to showcase her own less attractive daughter, Dora, since the Prince is expected to marry soon.

Cinderella uses the distraction to slip away with her horse, visit her pet owl and enjoy the wintry forest.

They spot a doe struggling in the snow, but the Prince's crossbow shot is foiled by a snowball thrown by Cinderella.

The Stepmother uses the royal visit to wrangle an invitation to the ball from the King, who reluctantly offers it out of politeness.

The Stepmother sends Vincek the servant to town to purchase fabrics and supplies to make new dresses for her and Dora.

Using his crossbow, he mischievously shoots a bird's nest from a tree branch, which falls on Vincek's face.

The lead huntsman shows a bejeweled ring that the King promises to the first hunter to shoot down a bird of prey.

The film was shot between December 11, 1972 and March 29, 1973 at the DEFA studios in Potsdam-Babelsberg (Brandenburg), Moritzburg Castle in Saxony, in the Barrandov studios in Prague, and in various places in Bohemia in what was then Czechoslovakia, including the Švihov castle in western Bohemia and the Bohemian Forest.

[2] The BBC serialized the film in three thirty-minute segments under the title Three Gifts for Cinderella in 1974, adding English-language narration rather than dubbing the dialog.

The American dub was also shown in Canada on CBC TV (CBHT Halifax / CBIT Sydney / CBCT Charlottetown) in the Maritimes on 18 November 1978 and 10 March 1979.

It is shown on TV around Christmas time every year in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Norway,[4] but it is also popular for example in Austria, Spain, the United Arab Emirates or in the Philippines.

This film's status has been likened to that held by Frank Capra's 1946 It's a Wonderful Life in the United States as a holiday staple.

A region-free DVD with monophonic Czech audio track was released in the United Kingdom by Second Run in December 2016.

Tre nøtter til Askepott, a Norwegian remake of the movie, was released on 12 November 2021, starring Astrid S and Cengiz Al in the two lead roles and featuring Kristofer Hivju.